hi all! thanks for your helpful advice - we had a wonderful weekend in SB.

friday - husband was in the mood for a burrito for lunch. we stopped by super cuca's, where he got a (huge!) california burrito and i had shrimp tacos - with a couple of cold coronas, it really hit the spot.

friday dinner - julienne's was wonderful, as usual. we went with the three course option, and between the two of us, we tried the: chicken liver toast, smoked mussels with sour cream & onion chips, market lettuces salad, ramen noodles, pan fried trout, and the sea scallops. finished with homemade cookies and cream ice cream. excellent!

saturday brunch, we went to scarlett begonia and sat outside, enjoying the company of all the cute pups that had been brought out to enjoy the nice weather. i had the scrambled eggs, and husband had chipotle chilaquiles - both very good. the maple bacon biscuit we shared was outstanding.

saturday dinner, we went to anchor woodfire kitchen. the complimentary focaccia was delicious - had to restrain ourselves from filling up on that. we shared the little gem salad, a sausage/pappardelle dish, and the short rib with polenta. i really loved the salad, and was a little more lukewarm on the mains - they were ok but didn't really wow me. maybe we should have stuck to sbkat's suggestion and ordered a bunch of the small plates! the table next to us was raving about the mussels, and i saw many enjoying the pizzas. the only gripe i would have is how cramped the space is, and the music and ambient noise from all the tables and bar patrons so close together got quite loud. all goes to show how popular the place is, and for our purposes, the convenience of this place in our hotel could not be beat after a long day of wine tasting!

sunday, we stopped by renaud's for brunch before heading back to LA: fried egg sandwich, coffee, and of course, a requisite croissant. we made sure to grab a couple extra (and a few macarons for good measure) to take back home with us.

all in all, a really great trip - thanks again for all the friendly advice. looking forward to going back soon and trying out even more of your recommendations.

thank you all for your helpful information! i made a reservation for anchor, and can't wait to try it! i think we will try to make it to scarlett begonia on friday afternoon for lunch. thanks again - will definitely report back.

hello! my husband and i are planning a trip to santa barbara next weekend. we have been to and love julienne, and have reservations there on friday night. i'm looking for a casual option for saturday night. on previous trips, we've been to petit valentien, olio pizzeria, and wine cask, which were all just ok. we have been to stella mare's a couple times for brunch, which was nice, but looking for something different. i've been doing some research and come across mentions of these restaurants - any opinions?

- scarlett begonia - the website does not really post a dinner menu and haven't been able to find any in-depth reviews of dinner service online. is it on par food/price-wise with julienne?- state and fig- le relais de paris

any other options i am overlooking? would any of these be better suited for brunch rather than dinner? we do love renaud's, but could mix things up... on that note, how does jeannine’s stack up?

Can anyone share recent experiences regarding lunch at Wit & Wisdom? I am originally from Baltimore, moved to LA, and coming back next week to visit family. Most reviews I've come across seem to deal primarily with dinner. Would like to take my parents out to lunch, and thought this along with a stop at LAMILL for some coffee afterwards would be nice.